We welcomed Adriana from Mexico to stay with us and experience Israel! She just celebrated her 50th birthday and sees this year as significant turning point in her life. Adriana has grown to have an amazing love for Israel and the Jewish people. Her deepest desire was to visit Israel and learn more about the history and the people. For seven days, we took her all around Jerusalem taking her to the with one of the most impactful places being Yad Vashem. Every tourist that visits Israel cannot miss this life changing museum.
On Adriana's last day with us, we brought her on a tour of Beit El and Shilo. Beit El is where Jacob had his dream of the angels ascending and decending a ladder. Jacob dedicated the place to God, calling it in English "House of God". Shilo is where the tabernacle stood for 369 years. We also visited a local jeweler living in Ofra. Adriana has an amazing time with us seeing new places, meeting many different people, and learning a tremendous amount of history she did not know.
We spent the day touring the Jewish Quarter, but little did we know our day would be filled with meeting new and old friends everywhere we went. We met our tour guide's friends from Holland who were on their way to visit the City of David. Being their first visit to Israel, the woman were so excited to meet us and hear our stories of how much we love Israel and the City of David where they were about to visit. We of course could not help but leaving without singing "Jerusalem of Gold" for them. One of the ladies, remarked, "I was singing this song in Dutch before coming to Israel and now you sing it for me here in Hebrew! Wow, I am so touched"! The ladies had no plans for Shabbat the following day, so we invited them to our home. Shabbat evening we taught them about Shabbat and the prayers and blessings said by the Jewish people in Israel and around the world.
With warm hospitality, we served our guests traditional homemade Matzoball chicken soup and a variety of dishes. The ladies from Holland loved to talk and hear all our about what we do here in Israel.
We welcomed a guest from India to our apartment in Israel. His name is Reuben David, referred to us by a mutual friend. Reuben traveled to Israel with a friend from the United States, stopping through Israel on their way to India.
Welcoming them to our home, we shared a meal, and taught them about the culture here in Israel. Raoul kindly offered to take them to the Old City and give them a tour unlike any other of the holiest sites in Jerusalem. We arrived to the old city overlooking the Western Wall and Temple Mount. It is a beautiful sight to see the one of the holiest places in the world lit up with people gathering from many nations to pray.
Raoul took the time to share more history and context of Jerusalem and the Old City.